This is, I admit, just total blue sky wanking, but the whole healthcare reconciliation debate raises another question: what if Democrats got rid of the filibuster?
Basically, this is easy to do. Without going into all the gory details, it depends on having a friendly Senate chair declare the filibuster unconstitutional and then having it sustained by a majority of the Senate. So all you need is Joe Biden (the chair) and 51 Democrats to support him and the filibuster is history.
This would, obviously, be the end of Barack Obama’s post-partisan unity act, and the next step would be for the opposition party to go ballistic and shut down the Senate. That’s what Dems would have done if Republicans had tried this, and it’s what Republicans would do if Democrats try it. At that point, either the Senate chair rams through rule changes that eliminate the various ways individual senators can halt business, or else it becomes a pure public relations battle. So who would win?
Beats me. But I don’t think it would depend very much on the nature of the bill that touched things off. It would depend on how the public felt when they learned — really learned — just how the Senate works and how wildly undemocratic it is. I suspect most people don’t really have a clue about this and would basically support a move to make it into a majoritarian institution.
On the other hand, the public is also generally repelled by exercises in pure power mongering, and there’s no question that’s what this would be. So it’s a tossup. I wouldn’t mind finding out, though.
POSTSCRIPT: Yes, I know this isn’t in the cards or anything. But it’s August. Aside from death panels, things are slow. Give me a break.
